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My wife and I live ‘an average life’ in the Bay Area making $320K. Last year, we bought a house for $200K over asking — now we don’t want to live in it. Should we get professional help?
MarketWatch ^ | 02/18/2023 | Alisa Wolfson

Posted on 02/18/2023 7:22:50 AM PST by SaxxonWoods

Question: I was a victim of FOMO during the housing market craziness and bought a house for $200,000 over the asking price. Now house prices are coming back to reality, and I feel like I lost my hard-earned money. I don’t know what to do as I am living with constant stress thinking that I made a big financial mistake, and I’m not sure if I should consult a financing adviser for better decision-making and long-term investment planning.

My wife and I are in our 30s and are working in the Bay Area and making about $320,000 combined yearly. We live an average life and watch every dollar that we spend.

(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...


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To: SaxxonWoods

Exactly. I would guess there are advertisements websites for every money making endeavour. Entertainment media “info” sites are very good to study. Well known phenomena with garbage news like CNN.


121 posted on 02/18/2023 9:45:46 AM PST by Getready (Wisdom is more valuable than gold and harder to find.)
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To: SaxxonWoods
Boy, bunch of meanies on this thread. What they need to do is take out a second mortgage on the house and put all the money into crypto currency. They'll be rich in no time at all!

Just trying to help out here.

122 posted on 02/18/2023 9:48:39 AM PST by Billthedrill
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To: Vaduz

I get two checks every month. The amount goes up and down with the price of nat gas. Right now I’m getting about $1,000 a month as gas prices are down from their peak. Expected time frame for production to fade out is about 7-8 years away. When I bought the pieces no one including me knew there was gas that could drilled. The frac’ing revolution changed all that, thanks to George Mitchell who invented the rotating drill bit and sold it to Baker Hughes. George has passed away, he was a billionaire from wildcatting Texas oil.


123 posted on 02/18/2023 9:50:42 AM PST by SaxxonWoods (The only way to secure your own future is to create it yourself. 111 is the key.)
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To: Clutch Martin

I spent a few weeks house sitting for a relative in coastal Scal a few years before the pandemic. Aging 3 bedroom ~1200 sqft homes with ocean views ran about $1.5M at the time. Property taxes ran anywhere from under $2K for old timers compared to $20K for homes purchased recently in the neighborhood.


124 posted on 02/18/2023 9:51:57 AM PST by EVO X ( )
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To: Vaduz

It doubled and you can eff right off. I don’t lie. I sold land I owned before anybody heard of Obama and sold it when he was in office.


125 posted on 02/18/2023 9:52:22 AM PST by SaxxonWoods (The only way to secure your own future is to create it yourself. 111 is the key.)
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To: SaxxonWoods

Evren better, H. Ross Perot bought half of it in the 90’s, allowing me to pay the rest of the land off. He insisted on getting the mineral rights. He was one of the first to know about the nat gas play. They drilled 5 wells on his piece, 2 on mine. A single well can pass under multiple properties, mine go under 6 other mineral right holders. It’s a very interesting business. My first job at 16 was staking oil wells for George Mitchell of all people.


126 posted on 02/18/2023 9:58:17 AM PST by SaxxonWoods (The only way to secure your own future is to create it yourself. 111 is the key.)
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To: SaxxonWoods

Sounds like 2 “new” couples on our cul de sac, who bought homes during the bidding wars and bought at the new temporary high.

They immediately had high end construction ripping out older areas of these homes and rebuilding to new specs including new minimums of retro to meet increased and just to fulfill their dreams of what a home should be.

During that time, our contractor was doing our annual keep up our home to keep it liveable.

On one of his visits, he commented about the new owners on the home next us being ripped up and redone. There were 7 big company pickups with at about 2 construction workers per truck, so 10-14 workers and the super were on the site daily for about 3 months. He estimated the workers were getting a minimum of $40-$50/hour.

Meanwhile, the cost of building materials was setting record at least weekly if not daily.

Since then, the estimated value of that home has dropped several hundred thousand $’s since it was bought.

They just had a new 1400’ 2nd floor family/rec room built above and between the carport and their kitchen.

Now, we are seeing a rebirth of family home compounds on the larger lots, throughout our areas. Re family, I mean the pre approved Mother/Mother in law dwelling/s and individual families behind locked gates.


127 posted on 02/18/2023 10:03:17 AM PST by Grampa Dave ("What is your 'fair share' of what someonezzzzzzzzzz else has worked for?" - Thomas Sowell !!?!!)
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To: Grampa Dave

Hey Grampa, good to “see” you. Sounds like your neighbors are in the for long haul. I give them credit for trying, you may get to see how they come out since real estate sales are public record.


128 posted on 02/18/2023 10:07:43 AM PST by SaxxonWoods (The only way to secure your own future is to create it yourself. 111 is the key.)
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To: Flash Bazbeaux
If you are bound and determined to spend all you make, all income levels are just enough to “get you by”.

I had a summer job in the collection department of a bank back in the late 70's. My job was to make reminder calls for people with past due payments. It was amazing how many of the town's elite had payment issues. I am guessing it hasn't changed all that much over the years.

129 posted on 02/18/2023 10:09:44 AM PST by EVO X ( )
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To: EVO X

“If you are bound and determined to spend all you make, all income levels are just enough to “get you by”.
I had a summer job in the collection department of a bank back in the late 70’s. My job was to make reminder calls for people with past due payments. It was amazing how many of the town’s elite had payment issues. I am guessing it hasn’t changed all that much over the years.”

Truth, with the only caveat being that some of those people come from wealthy families and will inherits $millions so they don’t bother with saving, that’s for peons.


130 posted on 02/18/2023 10:12:40 AM PST by SaxxonWoods (The only way to secure your own future is to create it yourself. 111 is the key.)
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To: FamiliarFace

Athens, as in The Battle of Athens, in the foothills of the Smokies between Chattanooga and Knoxville.


131 posted on 02/18/2023 10:25:02 AM PST by Melinda in TN
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To: saleman

They say the same about the people here in TN. We are all uneducated, unhealthy, welfare loving obese hicks, according to them, but they come here in droves. The good thing is that I haven’t met a lot that brought their CA ways with them. Most that I have met are truly escaping and leaving that behind them. I only met one that I almost told to go back where she came from if she hated the South so much.

The funny thing is, I know very few people that actually fit their descriptions of us. The ones I do know of all live in low-income government housing in the big democrat run cities like Memphis.


132 posted on 02/18/2023 10:32:26 AM PST by Melinda in TN
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To: Melinda in TN

Oh, right! I think you had mentioned that to me a few months ago. We had gone to Benton, and drove through Athens on our way there. Drove right past the Mayfield Dairy. Pretty area!


133 posted on 02/18/2023 10:34:11 AM PST by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TP)
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To: Clarancebeaks

My DIL was harping on my son to buy a house. They rent now. They made several offers, often above asking, but people with cash offers beat them every time.

They finally went to a financial advisor, and this person told them that buying at that time would be a terrible move for them. DIL finally stopped harping.

We are so glad they didn’t buy. Something that suits them that they can afford will turn up, but I’m so glad none of their offers were ever accepted.


134 posted on 02/18/2023 10:39:50 AM PST by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TP)
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To: FamiliarFace

It’s a beautiful area! My mom lived in Bradley County close to the Polk Co. line. Benton is in Polk Co. I’m in McMinn. I worked for almost 40 years in Cleveland before I retired. The population of Cleveland is exploding because of out-of-towners moving there for the jobs. Not as many come to Athens. Too small and “farmy” I guess.


135 posted on 02/18/2023 10:41:35 AM PST by Melinda in TN
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To: Melinda in TN

I prefer to stay away from Memphis. But Tennessee is a beautiful state.

Having said that. Nothing sucks like a Big Orange!
Roll Tide!


136 posted on 02/18/2023 10:45:44 AM PST by saleman
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To: SaxxonWoods

That sounds like an expensive lesson. Why would any sane person move to and buy property in that miserable hellhole?


137 posted on 02/18/2023 10:49:51 AM PST by ScottinVA
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To: SaxxonWoods

People this stupid making $320k a year is proof that the USA is the greatest country in the world.

**************************

Lol

Funny, but true.


138 posted on 02/18/2023 10:54:48 AM PST by unclebankster ( Globalism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.)
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To: ScottinVA

You’ve answered your question with your qualifier “sane”.

These people aren’t sane. They’re certifiably nuts.


139 posted on 02/18/2023 10:55:08 AM PST by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TP)
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To: Vaduz
Got fire insurance?.

Ahhhh....Jewish lightning!!!

140 posted on 02/18/2023 11:19:12 AM PST by Stand Watch Listen
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